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Like the rest of the United Kingdom, the climate of Scotland is subject to the moderating influences of the surrounding seas. Temperate winters and cool summers are typical, and extreme seasonal variations are rare. Low temperatures, however, are common in mountainous parts of the interior during the winter months. In the western coastal region, where the moderating effects of the Gulf Stream are strongest, conditions are somewhat milder than in the east. The average January temperature of the eastern coastal region is 3°C (37°F), and the average January temperature of the western coastal region is 4°C (39°F); corresponding July averages are 14°C (57°F) and 15°C (59°F). The average January and July temperatures for the city of Edinburgh are 3°C (38°F) and 14°C (58°F), respectively. Precipitation varies by region and topography and ranges from about 3,800 mm (about 150 in) annually in the western Highlands to about 635 mm (about 25 in) annually in some eastern areas.
The most common species of trees indigenous to Scotland are oak and conifers—chiefly fir, pine, and larch. However, centuries of human settlement have resulted in widespread deforestation, and large forested areas are rare. The only significant woodlands are in the southern and eastern Highlands. Except in these wooded areas, vegetation in the elevated regions consists largely of heather, ferns, mosses, and grasses. Saxifrage, mountain willow, and other types of alpine and arctic flora occur at elevations above 600 m (2,000 ft). Practically all of the cultivated plants of Scotland were imported from the Americas and the Eurasian mainland. The only large indigenous land mammal in Scotland is the deer. Both the red deer and the roe deer are found. The red deer, whose habitat is the Highlands, is by far the more abundant of the two species. Other indigenous mammals are the badger, fox, rabbit and hare, otter, ermine, pine marten, and wildcat. Game birds include red grouse, blackcock, ptarmigan, pheasant, and waterfowl. Scotland is home to large numbers of seabirds, including the gannet, fulmar, and various species of gull. The few predatory birds include the kite, osprey, peregrine falcon, and golden eagle. Scotland is famous for the salmon and trout that abound in its streams and lakes. Scotland’s coastal waters are home to many species of fish, including cod, haddock, herring, and various types of shellfish, as well as to a variety of marine mammals, including the Atlantic seal, common seal, dolphin, and porpoise.
Scotland, like the rest of the island of Great Britain, has significant reserves of coal. It also possesses large deposits of zinc, chiefly in the south. Much of the soil is rocky and infertile, with the best arable land concentrated in the Central Lowlands and in flat eastern coastal areas. In the north and west, where the climate is wetter and soils are less productive, forestry and sheep raising are important. Vast oil reserves were discovered in the North Sea off the Scottish coast in the 1960s and large-scale drilling began in the 1970s. Scotland has an intensive waterpower development program to increase energy supplies. The rivers of northern Scotland provide significant quantities of hydroelectric power, and the region contains most of the United Kingdom’s hydroelectricity-generating capacity.
The people of Scotland, like those of the United Kingdom in general, are descendants of various ethnic stocks, including the Picts, Celts, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, and newer immigrant groups. Scotland is mainly an urban-industrial society with a small, sparsely scattered rural population. Large-scale internal migration during the 19th and 20th centuries weakened the historic regional distinctions between Highlander (primarily Celtic, Catholic, and Gaelic-speaking) and Lowlander (Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, and Scots-speaking). In the 20th century the arrival of immigrants from former British colonial territories, as well as from other parts of the United Kingdom, has created a culturally diverse population, especially in the two main urban areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The population of Scotland (2004 estimate) is 5,078,000. The population density is about 64 persons per sq km (167 per sq mi), making Scotland the most sparsely populated of the major United Kingdom administrative divisions. The highest density is in the Central Lowlands, where nearly three-quarters of all Scots live, and the lowest is in the Highlands. About two-thirds of the population resides in urban areas. Scotland’s total population has remained almost unchanged since 1900. This stability is a result of low birth rates throughout the 20th century and steady rates of emigration to destinations overseas and to neighboring England.
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